Du Preez: Sharks a damn good team
THE Sharks have spent two difficult weeks in the Antipodes and while results have been less than favourable, the feeling amongst the team is that they are a stroke of good fortune away from turning matters around.
That is the word from coach Robert du Preez, speaking from Auckland where his team is preparing for Saturday’s match against the Blues at Eden Park, a ground where the Sharks have been mostly successful over the years in one of those strange anomalies of Super Rugby for South African teams.
Since the advent of Super Rugby in 1996, the Sharks have won more often than they have lost in Auckland and coach Du Preez would dearly love the city to once more be a happy hunting ground for his beleaguered team.
The Sharks lost to the Brumbies and the Rebels in their first two tour games and after the Blues this week, they have a tough assignment in Wellington against the in-form Hurricanes.
“There are no team issues or problems of any description in our camp, not at all,” said Du Preez. “We are not the first South African team to lose their first two games on tour in this part of the world. It happens in rugby, the team has worked incredibly hard and I cannot fault the effort of the players in both games.”
The coach said that the Sharks need a strong period of play early in the game against the Blues to flick the mental switch of the players.
“We are close to hitting the form we are looking for,” Du Preez said. “This is a damn good team, a talented team, but sometimes you need a sequence of good or lucky breaks to put the team in a good space and give the players the confidence to play the quality of rugby they are so capable of.”
So the Sharks have now crossed the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, where the going is only going to get tougher.
“We just know too well that the Blues are very dangerous if we allow them to play rugby. They have so many strike runners.
“But our big focus this week is on ourselves and doing our best to ensure we get into our stride from the first whistle. Not starting well has been our problem all tour and we are focussing heavily on making sure we get good territory and possession early on, and then execute accurately.”